Facing an Ancient God for a Year

Chapter 1296: Chapter 1294: Xin Yan

An unremarkable lantern with even quite a bit of wear and tear.

Without making a sound, Fu Qian examined the peculiar acquisition in his hands.

A black metal frame, a glass lantern chamber, and the scent of kerosene.

It truly seemed too ordinary, nearly impossible to detect anything special about it.

Precisely because of this, throwing it in a corner wouldn’t feel out of place.

The stance of the entire Sect was much the same.

Orintel’s words were clearly not baseless. There was indeed no hidden ambush nearby, not even a sense of being spied on.

No matter how one interpreted it, everything conveyed the feeling of someone waiting in vain for days on end, when the plan had been abandoned, leaving only Orintel in solitary vigilance.

All of these signs combined had a singular purpose—to enhance the visiting experience and minimize the desire to immediately leave.

That was, until his presence ignited one of the lanterns.

“Don’t be nervous; just make sure you hold it steady.”

At that moment, Fu Qian’s actions were clearly interpreted by Orintel in a different light.

“It seems you’ve already felt the connection between yourself and it. That’s right, this is the resonance under the dominion of the Stars.”

“You and this lantern share its light, and its life. It will extinguish upon your death, and vice versa.”

Orintel’s demeanor fully embodied duplicity—submissive before, arrogant after.

The instant the lantern lit up, Orintel became like a Hunter holding their breath, seeing their prey finally step into their trap, his every strand of hair exuding exhilaration.

“But don’t worry, I wasn’t lying earlier. Until I send out a signal, the Saints won’t know what’s happening here.”

“Even if chaos breaks out outside, they won’t come here lightly.”

Could it really be this absolute?

Cradling the lantern in his hands, Fu Qian nodded faintly as he gazed at Orintel.

“Wouldn’t that make your situation very dangerous?”

“If it weren’t dangerous, how could we arrive at this scene?”

The other practically admitted it outright, making no effort to hide his pleasure.

“You’re arrogant, not stupid. I’ve already replayed that night’s events a thousand times over the past few days.”

“With just a few words, you managed to toy with an entire group, making them not only thank you despite being victims but also feel indebted.”

“To catch someone like you, how could we proceed without the resolve to sacrifice everything? And even though I was confident you’d come, I didn’t know your purpose, so I couldn’t tailor any specific setup. Now though…”

Orintel pointed to the lantern on the table.

“You’re free to try killing me. The method is simple—just extinguish this lantern.”

The sensation from earlier wasn’t wrong. That invisible, flickering resonance did indeed carry the pulse of life, only its target was this would-be Saint.

The power of love truly is immense. The mere ripple of it shattering was enough to push a once-promising young man into gambling everything with his existence.

“To place yourself in the trap, defy fate, and claim half a victory—Children of the Stars indeed live up to their name!”

In response to the fervid declaration, Fu Qian played along with exaggerated admiration, dramatically lamenting and analyzing the current situation with feigned sincerity.

“Let me think. Something about this feels peculiar. It’s clearly a trap set for me, yet you fell into it earlier… Could it be that a demonstration was required to trigger the next step?”

“It’s not that you sat inside the cage, but rather that wherever you stand becomes the cage?”

“These unnatural shadows—on the surface, they seem to stem from the lantern’s limited effect, but in truth, it’s caused precisely because of the lantern itself?”

“From this angle, if I simply took a glance inside and left, wouldn’t you end up chasing me with two lanterns?”

…

As the saying goes, silence means consent.

After Fu Qian’s analysis, Orintel—resigned to his fate—admitted it silently for about five seconds.

“I am now exceedingly thankful I persuaded those fools. If it wasn’t done to the extreme, there’s no way of keeping you here.”

The next moment, he spoke slowly, acknowledging his opponent while also inflating himself.

“To grasp this so quickly… I can hardly believe you’ve never seen this trick before. But then again, if you had, how could you be caught?”

“Yes, you guessed entirely correctly. As a Taboo Level decree, the activation of Xin Yan is normally extremely demanding and time-consuming.”

“But with an initial spark prepared beforehand, it becomes much simpler.”

Pointing at his lit lantern, Orintel’s tone was entirely forthright.

“But whether you believe it or not, after aiding ignition, the spark has no further significance.”

“You can absolutely try killing me and extinguishing this lantern to see if it frees you. Of course, don’t expect me not to resist.”

“How could I? I trust this reminder comes from your genuine goodwill—besides, my coming here this time was always meant to prioritize harmony.”

However, Fu Qian waved his hand, signaling to the other not to be nervous, while keeping his thoughts agile and fluid.

“But based on this reasoning, it wouldn’t matter to you if I took this lantern and made a run for it, right?”

“You’re correct. With these arrangements, there was always a fair chance you’d kill me outright and flee with the lantern.”

Orintel chuckled eerily.

“But the sole purpose of this trap is simply to gift you this object. You’ll now carry a special weak point you can never escape.”

“You might choose to hide it, carry it with you always, or assign a loyal guard to watch over it… Truly, I’m curious to see what you’ll decide. But no matter what, it will stay with you, and the Sect’s Hunters will sense its presence at a specific time every day.”

As expected, it felt like accidentally acquiring a lich’s Life Protection Box.

The key issue was that it clearly had no benefits, only drawbacks.

If it were destroyed, the main body would die. Yet, if the main body perished, it was highly doubtful this object could resurrect him.

Fu Qian momentarily inwardly complained, then naturally continued his line of questioning.

“Does this specific time refer to sunrise?”

“…You even know that?”

Clearly, Orintel—who had already drastically overestimated him—was still visibly stunned at this point.

“How could you possibly know even that!”

“The arrogance of the ignorant.”

Fu Qian scoffed coldly, effortlessly employing Harriet’s signature rhetorical Three-stage question.

“Do you think you’re the only ones favored by the Stars? Do you think the world you see is all there is?”

He pointed to his own eyes.

“Do you think these eyes are this color for no reason?”

Of course, this last question was far too abstruse. Orintel probably wouldn’t grasp its meaning even in a lifetime.

“As a Child of the Stars, you’ll never understand how my people view your kind.”

With a perfect mixture of elegance and subtle derision, Fu Qian shook his head slowly, lips curled into a mocking smile.

“But don’t worry; I’m not as extreme as they are. For instance, from my perspective, at least the Sect’s Hunters are somewhat amusing.”